Reduced, Wet Field Opens Up Belmont Betting Odds

• Ethereal Road and Howling Time have both dropped out of Belmont, leaving only eight horses left to race.
• The favorite prior to start has won Belmont 2 of the last 3 years, even with uncertain weather conditions.

New York – The Belmont Stakes are only four days away, and there are conditions worth analyzing before placing any final bets on the race. The rain could easily lead to a slippery track, and now there are only eight horses in the lineup for the second year in a row.

Mo Donegal and Rich Strike have been the favorites since the beginning, and even with weather concerns and less horses, they are still at the top of the favorites to win.

Does Weather Affect Betting?

As of now, the Tuesday before the event, there is an 80% chance of rain. With the even taking place to the west of New York in the summer time, rain is not exactly a surprise.

In the last three years, there was a concern for rain, but the percentages lowered as the event came closer and the favorite still won the Belmont two out of the three years.

• 2021 – Essential Quality won with Luis Saez as the favorite, with -200 odds before the race began. There was an 8% chance of rain and 9mph winds.
• 2020 – Tiz The Law had +120 odds before the race began, and finished in first, with Manny Franco as the jockey. There was a 40% chance of rain before the evening before the event.
• 2019 – Sir Winston’s final odds were determined to be +800 before he won the race, with Joel Rosario as the jockey. The weather was partly cloudy, and the chance of rain fell all the way down to 3%.

Do Less Horses Change Betting Strategies?

Ethereal Road and Howling Time have both dropped out of racing in the Belmont, leaving only eight horses left for online Belmont betting.

The 2020 and 2019 Belmont Stakes both featured 10 horses as usual, but the 2021 event also ended up featuring only eight horses as well.

Whenever a horse drops out of the race, it leaves better odds for all of the other contenders, as seen in the 2022 Kentucky Derby.

Ethereal Road, who has been having issues with a crack in one of the horses’ hooves, also dropped out of the Kentucky Derby and is the reason that Rich Strike was able to join and have the log odds of +8000, leading to massive payouts.

Current Odds For 2022 Belmont Stakes

• We The People +225
• Mo Donegal +250
• Rich Strike +400
• Creative Minister +650
• Nest +700
• Barber Road +1200
• Skippylongstocking +1600
• Golden Glider +2200

Ben Fiore

Ben has always been a huge sports fan who loves to keep up with all things NBA and NFL. He is a Editing, Writing, and Media major at Florida State University and enjoys spending his free time watching sports and hanging out.